Israel, Gulf states conducted secret diplomacy

Israel has had access to the highest levels of the Qatari government. The memo discloses, for example, that Israel has contacts with Qatar’s emir, Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, also known as Prince Hamad.

“Prince Hamad had told the Israelis in October 2006 that he believed Iran was determined to develop a nuclear bomb no matter the cost,” the cable says. “According to Hadas, Hamad complained at the time that he felt the U.S. would not listen to him and tended to believe what it heard from Iran.”

Mr. Hadas said the UAE was “increasingly hostile” to Iran, but also noted that the Emirates allowed Iran to launder its money and had extensive financial dealings with the country. The Emiratis are “not ready to do publicly what they say in private,” the cable quotes Mr. Hadas as saying.

In February, the police chief of Dubai, an emirate in the UAE, publicly accused Israel’s Mossad of assassinating a Hamas arms dealer named Mahmoud al-Mabhouh.

Diplomats from the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia declined to comment for this article. A spokesman for the Israeli Embassy also declined to comment.

Other Israeli diplomats did, however, tell The Washington Times that Israeli officials have looked to coordinate some aspects of Iran policy with Arab states in private meetings in Europe and on the sidelines of international meetings. For example, Israelis have shared information with Gulf states on weapons and high-tech shipments bound for Iran, these diplomats said.

At the end of the cable, the American diplomat told Mr. Hadas that Arab leaders tell the United States that progress in the peace process “would make it easier for them to publicly engage Israel.”

Mr. Hadas countered, “The Israeli-Palestinian track should not serve as an excuse for the Gulf to avoid action, whether against Iran or through practical steps to support the Palestinian Authority.”

Mr. Miller said the secret contacts Arabs have maintained with Israel have some value, but not too much.

“In a sense, the Arabs are getting the best of both worlds: They get points with the Americans for carrying out quiet contacts with the Israelis, but they don’t get hammered by their own press or their regional rivals. That is how they prefer it,” he said.

In response to the disclosures this week, the White House announced it would be moving to change the classification procedures. In the past, Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper said the recent leaking may spell the end for the intelligence-sharing reforms instituted after the 9/11 attacks.

Meanwhile, Amazon.com, which lent some of its server space to WikiLeaks, took the group off its servers after government pressure.